This episode focuses on the idea of liberation in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (Patanjala-yoga-shastra). We touch a little on how Patanjali's system inherits key aspects from the Upanishads, and then focus on the first four sutras of chapter one, which constitute what is known as the classical definition of yoga. From these foundational sutras, it is possible to get a solid sense of how Patanjali frames a simple definition of Yoga, the nature of the problem of ignorance that Yoga intends to address, and the nature of the liberated state. Crucially, the discussion lends nuance - in a surprising way - to the common notion that Yoga - as "union" - is the desired end of our practices.
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This episode focuses on the idea of liberation in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (Patanjala-yoga-shastra). We touch a little on how Patanjali's system inherits key aspects from the Upanishads, and then focus on the first four sutras of chapter one, which constitute what is known as the classical definition of yoga. From these foundational sutras, it is possible to get a solid sense of how Patanjali frames a simple definition of Yoga, the nature of the problem of ignorance that Yoga intends to address, and the nature of the liberated state. Crucially, the discussion lends nuance - in a surprising way - to the common notion that Yoga - as "union" - is the desired end of our practices.
This episode focuses on Swami Vivekananda, a key figure who brought Yoga to the West. His political and spiritual leanings show a strong influence from British colonialism, including: Western (Greek) notions of rationality and more universalist interpretations of Christian doctrine. His legacy left us a polarization between systems of yoga oriented by his definition of raja (“royal”, superior), and those oriented toward the more gross-physical (in his estimation) concerns of the Hatha Yogins. We see this value system at work today when, for instance, “gym yoga” is disparaged as “unspiritual”, or we hear “it’s not about the asana.” We should be careful with such ideas...
Lost Ways of Knowing
This episode focuses on the idea of liberation in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (Patanjala-yoga-shastra). We touch a little on how Patanjali's system inherits key aspects from the Upanishads, and then focus on the first four sutras of chapter one, which constitute what is known as the classical definition of yoga. From these foundational sutras, it is possible to get a solid sense of how Patanjali frames a simple definition of Yoga, the nature of the problem of ignorance that Yoga intends to address, and the nature of the liberated state. Crucially, the discussion lends nuance - in a surprising way - to the common notion that Yoga - as "union" - is the desired end of our practices.
